Lane Kiffin completely shuts down ridiculous media onslaught amid Ole Miss head coaching drama with Florida and LSU in pursuit

Lane Kiffin is absolutely done talking about other jobs as national media members continue to ask the same exhausting questions again during SEC media call this week

Travis May — College Football Managing Editor
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The drama surrounding Lane Kiffin, the Ole Miss Rebels, the LSU Tigers, and the Florida Gators programs has reached unbelievable levels. The national media has been relentless in their pursuit of clarity from Lane Kiffin as to where he plans to spend his near future as a head coach. The message boards have been going wild with fans tracking flights, taking grainy photos at private airports in hopes of finding the next head coach for LSU or Florida, but we still don’t have an answer.

Kiffin met with SEC (and some national) media on Wednesday where the questions and drama didn’t slow down either. Despite Kiffin continually saying that he wants to focus on the season right now (the best in Ole Miss history), emphasizing that he doesn’t want to talk about other jobs, the media just would not give up.

Lane Kiffin fights through aggressive questions on his head coaching future with Ole Miss

I don’t normally write articles in a transcript kind of format (nor do I typically speak in first person here), but given the ridiculous nature of the SEC weekly media press conference call on Wednesday I believe it’s best for fans to get the full quotes and contextual picture of today’s events.

Kiffin started off his call cordially, excited to talk about Ole Miss and the momentum they have right now, enjoying the best season in program history. He was glad to talk through his impact and legacy on his players. Then, unfortunately, the media on the call all ganged up on Kiffin asking nothing but aggressive, borderline inappropriate questions. After sharing several of those aggressive, annoying, questions and answers, I’ll share my thoughts, but this how the call played out today.

Journalist 1: “Has Ole Miss asked you or your representation to provide them with clarity before the Egg Bowl and where you intend to coach next season?”

Lane Kiffin: “Yeah, I’m not going to [comment]. I’m going to stay on what I’ve done for six years, which isn’t talking about other jobs and that situation. I’ve seen Keith [Carter] (the Ole Miss athletic director) twice already today. Keith and I have a great relationship. We communicate daily on a lot of things, and I love it here. It’s been amazing. We’re in a season that’s the greatest run in the history of Ole Miss at this point. So, I think it’s really exciting.”

Journalist 2 [the very next question]: “Lane. Do you expect to coach next week as you’re preparing for this game?”

Kiffin: “You know something I don’t know?”

Journalist 2: “I’m asking you.”

Kiffin: “Do I expect to coach next week? Why would I not expect to coach next week? I mean, I expected to coach against Florida too. So I don’t even understand the question. How I would not expect to coach next week? Why would I be at work?”

Journalist 2: “Fair enough. Fair enough. Is there any reason you wouldn’t see yourself, any situation in which you wouldn’t think you’d be coaching this team moving forward beyond next week?”

Kiffin: “No, I don’t, I don’t – I mean, we’re game planning. We just practiced. I don’t even understand how that would happen. So I must be missing something.”

Journalist 3: “Lane, I was going to give you a chance to set the record straight, that you spoke with the governor of Louisiana here pretty recently. Did that or did that not happen?”

Kiffin: “Yeah, I wouldn’t comment on that either way.”

Journalist 4 [the very next question]: “When do you hope to have some clarity and provide some clarity on your future with Ole Miss, and also the other parties that are seeking your services at this moment?”

Kiffin: “Like I said, I’ve been saying the same thing for six years. I’m not talking about, speaking on other jobs. I’m focused on this one. And I guess that’s kind of spiraling off the question before, like, are you coaching in the game? I don’t even understand what the – I don’t even understand what the question is. Like, of course, I’m coaching. I mean, unless you guys know something I don’t. Or I’m getting fired, and I don’t know it.”

Journalist 5 [very next question, ignoring Kiffin blatantly]: “Is there a possibility you could take another job before the postseason?”

Kiffin: “I’m not speaking on other jobs.”

Journalist 6: “Is it more flattering or overwhelming? To be courted by three different fan bases, three different schools, three different entities?”

Kiffin: “It doesn’t feel good on this call. I said it before. If programs want your coach, that should be looked at as an amazing thing and a great thing by your fans. So if programs want your coach because you’re 10-1, and whatever – we’ve run three 10 win seasons in a row, which has never been done at Ole Miss before – is that a good thing that other programs want your coach because your programs experiencing success it’s never had? Or would you rather be 5-6 or 6-5 or something right now? And no one wants your coach? I would look at it from that perspective.”

Journalist 7 [final aggressive question, asked after a few other soft balls]: “Lane, what did your family learn on its trip to Gainesville and Baton Rouge that could be informative as you make your decision?”

Kiffin: “Like I said, I’m not getting on any speculation or stories of things having to do with other jobs. I’ve said that about ten times. But I understand you’ve got to ask them…Can’t wait for next week guys.”

Obviously, the theme of this week’s call with Lane Kiffin was his head coaching future. Imagine that. The questions are just getting old at this point, and bordering on inappropriate. He’s done taking questions about other jobs, and journalists who think they’re doing their job are just going to continue ignoring him, repackaging the same thing over and over again.

Here are the facts about Lane Kiffin, the Ole Miss program, and the two other suitors (LSU and Florida) who are pursuing him aggressively:

Lane Kiffin has repeated over and over and over again how much he loves it at Ole Miss, including how good his relationship is with the athletic director, the university, and what the community in Oxford means to his family.

Since the modern era of college football began (with NIL, immediate eligibility to play after transfer, now revenue sharing) in 2021, Ole Miss has won 49 football games in just five seasons.

In that same span, LSU has won just 41 games and fired two head coaches. Florida has won an embarrassingly low total of 28 games and fired two coaches as well.

This is a new era of college football. What fans and media thought they knew about “top programs” even five years ago means virtually nothing today. Lane Kiffin has built Ole Miss into a national title contending program with one of the best NIL and roster construction apparatuses in the country. He might still leave. However, he’s already proven that he doesn’t have to leave in order to compete at the highest levels of the sport.

My fellow journalists, please find something better to do than harass Lane Kiffin for the rest of the month. He’s clearly done answering the same bad, unnecessary questions. It’s obvious that he and his family are doing their due diligence here to make the best decision for them moving forward. It’s quite likely that decision ends up being simply staying in Oxford. Why? Every single answer he’s ever given to a question in relation to this situation has been focused on how much he loves Ole Miss, how proud he is of what he’s built in Oxford, and just how happy he is (“happier than he’s ever been” in multiple interviews). Let’s let the man decide his future. We’ll have our answer soon enough.

We’ll be back with more Ole Miss Rebels coverage here at A to Z Sports soon! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!

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